IN CONVERSATION WITH SISTER BLISS

interview by JANA LETONJA

Faithless are releasing a new album this June, which will be their first album since Maxi Jazz’s passing. They are taking a fresh approach with this project, releasing the album as a four-part sonic journey, with the first chapter dropping on 6th June, and the following parts rolling out monthly until the full release in September. This year also marks Faithless’ 30th anniversary, and we chatted with Sister Bliss about this milestone and their new album.

The new album, 'Champion Sound', marks a big moment for Faithless - your first in five years, and released in four parts. What’s the concept behind it, and what inspired the decision to break it into chapters?

As we were making the album, we felt it made sense as 4 separate pieces of music, each with a distinct mood, musical identity  and energy. And we also felt that in the streaming era, to release it all at once would be too much, so we are releasing each side every month until September when the full album will be available, and on double vinyl with a gatefold sleeve. As we come from this beautiful analogue world, we wanted people to have the time to digest each side in their own time rather than be deluged with music. 

The first chapter, ‘Forever Free’, includes the last-ever vocal recording from Maxi Jazz. How did this feel for you as a friend and collaborator, and how did you approach incorporating his legacy into the album?

It was actually a poem we recorded a while back, but when I was in the studio, I was reminded of it and felt very poignant as Maxi was no longer with us. It actually started off as an introduction to my DJ set at Glastonbury, which then evolved into the start of the new live show, and now full circle it starts the album, a little slice of Maxi’s philosophy distilled and he is himself now 'forever free', so as ever with Faithless, there are layers of meaning. 

Maxi’s voice and lyrics have been such a big part of Faithless. With his absence, how has the creative process changed, and how have you managed to maintain the spirit of Faithless while moving forward?

We made the album ‘All Blessed’ in 2020, which was the first not to feature Maxi, and we kept hoping he would be well enough to record, but sadly it was not to be, so we felt anyone we collaborated with would need to have the spirit of Maxi, the consciousness, the curiosity and poetic vision. Faithless is the space where spoken word and electronic music meet, so we felt it honoured Maxi to ‘pass the baton’ to the next generation of artists/poets with a lyrical agenda. We also weaved in different vocalists to contrast the spoken word, from Suli Breaks on 'All Blessed' and also on this album from Nathan Ball, and new R Plus singer Amelia Fox. 

The album features a diverse range of moods across its chapters, from the deeply emotional ‘Forever Free’ to the expansive electronica of ‘Phone Number’ and the nostalgic ‘Book of Hours’. How did you decide on these different themes and styles, and how do they represent Faithless’ musical evolution over the years?

I think they just emerged. As we were writing, we knew we wanted the music to be expansive and also a reaction to the 2 mins 29 seconds edits that have become the norm for playlists, though of course we do have those ready for the streaming platforms, and also a nod to our musical heritage, from Pink Floyd to Soundsystems.

'Book of Hours' actually came about as I was writing some music for film scoring, to improve my showreel, and played it to Rollo who became very excited about it and felt it was a whole piece in its own right, and started to play around with it, adding grooves and programming referencing DJ Shadow’s ‘Endtroducing’ as inspiration.

The final chapter, ‘Champion Sound’, brings in artists like Bebe Rexha, Suli Breaks, and Antony Szmierek. Can you tell us more about how those collaborations came together and what they bring to the closing of this sonic journey?

It was very exciting to work with a bonafide pop star such as Bebe, and quite outside our comfort zone, but she has attitude and swagger, and also brought an emotive soul searching energy  to the lyrics of ‘Dollars and Dimes’. She is a genius with her fantastic hooky melodies. We collaborated with Suli Breaks on ‘All Blessed’ and it was wonderful to continue our journey together in the studio weaving his voice through the new album. I was sent Antony Szmierek's first track a couple of years ago, and immediately loved his voice, laidback energy and wisdom. In a great twist of fate, our guitarist Max Rad ended up producing his debut album and we invited him to collaborate on our song. This side of the album has a real jump up energy and is a direct homage to the sound system culture we grew up with in London.

Faithless’ impact on dance music and club culture is undeniable. With iconic tracks like ‘Insomnia’, ‘God Is A DJ’, and ‘We Come 1’, how do you view the band’s enduring influence on the genre and the generations of artists that have been inspired by your music?

It's very flattering to think we have influenced other artists, but I would say I’m always looking to the future and not resting on the past. It continually surprises me that people are still discovering Faithless even though they weren't even born when these records were made, and the landscape musically was so different. I guess it also reminds us to keep the bar high, to revel in the album format, and we still want our music to mean something, have an emotional impact despite the ‘noise’ of the huge amount of tracks released.

images by BLUE LAYBOURNE

This year marks Faithless’ 30th anniversary, which is an incredible milestone. Looking back, what are some of the most defining moments of the band’s journey that have shaped both your career and the culture of electronic music?

There have many defining moments, from hearing our music on the radio for the first time, to causing an earthquake in Belgium that registered on the Richter Scale, to headlining the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury twice, to playing Lowlands after visiting 3 continents in as many days, thinking we had nothing left until the crowd roared and breathed life into us. This was evidence that people, music and energy is a reciprocal communion. I’d never really experienced anything quite like that before. We were not merely ‘playing’ our songs, we were immersed in them, and the crowd in us. 

Hearing the crowd sing the melody of ‘We Come 1’ back to us after only hearing a dubplate for the first time, and hearing the lyrics of ‘Mass Destruction’ for the first time in the studio, was the realisation something very important was happening. Words that sadly still resonate every day are “Greed is a weapon of mass destruction, racism is a weapon of mass destruction, we need to find courage, overcome -  inaction is a weapon of mass destruction”.

How do you think the dance music scene has evolved since Faithless first emerged in the ’90s, and what role do you think the band played in shaping its current sound and culture?

It's a global scene now,  with huge international stars and massive festivals covering every genre of electronic music. It's a very rich scene indeed, but I also think there is more acceptance that dance music artists can be headline acts now. If there is anything we had a role in shaping, I think it's in challenging that perception that dance music was somehow the ‘poor cousin’ of rock and indie. Playing on the same stages as the likes of Metallica, REM, Coldplay, etc. went some way to open people's minds as to the potential for dance music not to remain on the sidelines anymore. 

After Faithless’ return to live performance, headlining iconic festivals and venues like Glastonbury and Brixton Academy, how did it feel to reunite with your fans and to experience that energy once again?

It's been very emotional, a really beautiful celebration and also a tribute to Maxi, which leaves me quite melancholy. I keep expecting him to saunter on stage and soak up the incredible love people have for him. It's been quite a journey to return to playing live again, but the energy has been off the hook. A very special experience indeed. 

With so many Faithless projects in the works, what are you most excited for in 2025?

Most excited about finally getting the 'Champion Sound' album out into the world and getting out there for the festival season. We have played a couple of shows, but they start fully this month all the way through to September. It'll be a summer of love because we all need more of that.